The New Molière: Time travel in Tours, Loire Valley

The New Molière stands at the corner of rue Corneille in Tours, Loire Valley. It’s a café. It’s a restaurant. It sits across from the venerable Grand Théâtre de Tours, a historic monument of France.

Here is indeed a small slice of Parisian life in the heart of my city.

Inside the New Molière (an Anglicized name members of the Académie Française might disapprove of for such an establishment in such a neighborhood) it’s possible to travel back in time while sipping a “chocolat chaud” on a dreary afternoon in October.

It’s too early for “le goûter” but let’s indulge and capture another “petit bonheur” to recover from a long, energetic walk fighting rain drops along the Loire riverbanks.

The hot chocolate is tasty but it is the elegant decor of the New Molière that catches the eye, from the magnificent ceiling frescos painted in 1881 to the large mirrors and columns.

And did I mention the “zinc” counter right in front of me? It’s quiet mid-afternoon and no “habitué” (regular) stands at the counter. No matter. I get to enjoy it more.

And so my eyes drift, from the countertop to the ceiling back and forth.

I have a thought for the forgotten painter who once created this impressive decor, George Clairin.

He was a personal friend of the Divine Sarah Bernhardt’s and immortalized her in countless paintings, including the one I often visit at Tours’ Museum of Fine Arts: Red-headed Sarah stands in all her glory in the gardens of her beloved home in Belle-Ile en Mer.

The city of Tours also commissioned Clairin who decorated major parts of the “Grand Théâtre” across the street before its inauguration in 1889.

Fast forward 135 years: This is time travel at its best, les amis, and it only cost 4 Euros.

 

The New Molière
1 rue Corneille
37000 Tours